Penmaker to Blancpain

Since its launch in 2005, Only Watch has been one of the most – if not the most – significant auctions in the watch world. A biennial charity auction founded by Luc Pettavino, Only Watch is organized by the Monegasque Association Against Muscular Dystrophy (MAAMD) under the patronage of Prince Albert II of Monaco.

Brands donate unique timepieces to be auctioned; the proceeds are used completely to help finance research against Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a debilitating and life-threatening genetic disorder that affects around one in 3,500 boys, including Pettavino’s own son, who died of the disease in November 2016.

Fabergé is one of the 50 watch brands taking part in this year’s edition of Only Watch by Christie’s, which will be held in Geneva on November 11, 2017. And, as was to be expected in this particular year, the unique piece donated is a citronish twist on the Visionnaire Chronograph, the brand’s incredibly creative stopwatch for the wrist.

Thanks to its stunning color combination, Fabergé’s “If Life Gives You Lemons . . .” predicate highlights the auction’s serious topic with a color scheme recalling that of Only Watch’s corporate colors; the picture-perfect chronograph is perfectly set to raise awareness for Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

View through the display back to the beautifully finished AgenGraphe movement in the Fabergé Visionnaire Chronograph for Only Watch 2017

The AgenGraphe chronograph movement offers a perfectly and intuitively readable display of elapsed time as well as hours and minutes. Readability has always been something of a problem with wrist timers, and the AgenGraphe solves it by using a completely new approach.

Nearly a decade ago Jean-Marc Wiederrecht and his team at Agenhor began engaging in an earnest attempt to solve every problem from which automatic mechanical chronographs have suffered, evolving from the general idea that a movement could be expanded on the inside, thereby enveloping additional complications without increasing the size of the caliber.

So Agenhor developed the AgenGraphe movement using a cavity in the center of the caliber, which holds the chronograph mechanism. The automatic winding rotor never got in the way of any developments using this movement base because it was cleverly turned into a peripheral rotor rotating around the outside of the movement perimeter on the dial side (and sometimes visible through the dial depending on the model).

The biggest advantage: instantaneously readable display

The biggest advantage of all this is without the shadow of a doubt the fact that it allows for the chronograph’s seconds, minutes, and hours to be centrally located and concentrically rotating separate from the time indication.

In other words, the chronograph display indicates the elapsed hours, minutes, and seconds in a way that perfectly mimics the conventional three-hand time display. Gone is having to collate the elapsed reading from separate subdials!

Marking a century since the Russian Revolution – no, I’m sorry, there is no timer (Easter egg?) hidden on the dial with this display – Fabergé has decided to initiate the next revolution: but in chronographs.

The winning bidder also has the opportunity to visit the workshops of Fabergé and its talented “workmaster” Agenhor if so desired – as well as winning the knowledge that this is the first example of the Visionnaire Chronograph Fabergé delivers to a client.

When I first looked at Greubel Forsey I thought that they were the ugliest watches ever produced. I was flabergasted that they were even allowed to continue in Switzerland because they made such ugly watches. Then I saw the meticulous craftsmanship behind it. The exquisit hand-finishing, the flawless pure-gold dials, the scientific prowess behind the tourbillons, as well as the intutitive way of combining balanced asymetrical cases with intuitive and innovative approaches to complications. When I understood all of that, I began to see the aesthetic behind every thing and the balance in looks. One thing on one side with another thing on the other. Balance. Now, Greubel Forsey is one of my favorite watch companies and I am infatuated with teh Double Balanciers with white dial in white gold as well as the simple Double Tourbillon 30 Degrees with the simple red gold case and that wonderful gold colored movement. However, we are talking about Faberge now. The movement is amazing, to say the least and the craftsmanship is prevalent. However, the watch is simply too cluncky and overbearing. The hands are not elegant at all and the chronograph display, though ingenious, doesn’t represent that minimalistic elegance of two simple circles in the middle ofthe dial with a wonderful interaction between regular and chronograph seconds. Here, there are some design flaws too overbearing for me to overlook. However, don;t take my comment too personally because if you are interested in chronographs like that, it seems to be the perfect choice.
(Forgive bad spelling and/or grammar due to typing, if applicable.)

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